Files

Lon Humphrey

Lon Humphrey

Joined
Nov 14, 2007
Messages
588
ok ive been using hand tools for most of my adult life and i have to ask what is up with the quality of files?....i bought 2 small files for filing the slot on the inside of a guard and i gotta tell ya im not happy the damn thing was dull before i got it done it was a nicholson brand made in the U S A file and the bigger one i bought at the same time i use for filing in my plunge lines went dull too

any one else having bad luck with files?
 
I have found Nicholson to be of good quality. If it's the real small one of 1/8 or less I like Swiss Gorbet which I mainly use for file work on folders. You may have hit a bad production run unless you are useing them on hardened steel. Frank
 
the steel was mild or dead soft....either way i just tryed to find the nicholson company on google and every distributor on the planet but not one hit on the company itself
 
I've encountered the same thing lately with nicholson's Lon, its almost like they're just case hardened or something.
 
When you find a bunch of files laying next to each other I leave them be as they have been filling each other each time someone picks through then.

I ask the clerk or manager when they are expecting their next shipment, ask them to give me a call and pick my files out of the paper they come wrapped in. I also check each one individually with my hand.
 
Yeah, the quality of Nicholsons has gone way down. They don't come as sharp as they used to and don't stay sharp. Grobet still makes a good file, but you pay for it.
 
About two years ago I spoke to a Nicholson representative. I was trying to narrow down the steel types they have used over the years. She told me that up until the mid 50's they used W2 and 1095 after that. She also said that they have been doing runs of case-hardened/induction hardened steels but have yet to go into production.

Nicholson has also produced files under Black Diamond, Superior, Eagle, Arcade, American and several other names that i can'r remember off-hand.

Rick
 
jawilder said:
Wait, I don't understand. How can you use a file if it's not turned into a knife?!?
Click to expand...

The file form is the incubation phase for a knife... it must be nurtured(not dropped) until it is ready to shed its scales and emerge as the beautiful hamon-accented butterfly.

Rick:p
 
The decline in quality that I've noticed has just been over the past 5 years or so. They do about 1/3 as much work as they used to.
 
I've had bad luck with files, but I am abusive and my shop has close to 100% humidity... I did get some decent life from a Sandvik file, and last year I bought a cheap aluminum file that has done more work for me than a belt grinder on aluminum (the belt grinder makes such a neat sound on aluminum but doesn't take away much metal...)... I'd invest more money in files if I knew they would last, now I use 2$ files, through hardened, hamons-in-waiting
 
There's something to be said for Craftsman gaurantee. Their files aren't all that great but they'll replace them "if they ever fail to give satisfaction." I suppose you could just make a trip to Sears once a month and trade them in for new.
 
james terrio said:
There's something to be said for Craftsman gaurantee. Their files aren't all that great but they'll replace them "if they ever fail to give satisfaction." I suppose you could just make a trip to Sears once a month and trade them in for new.
Click to expand...

Hmmmmmmmmm.:D:thumbup:
 
fluidsteel said:
Hmmmmmmmmm.:D:thumbup:
Click to expand...

I almost feel guilty suggesting that, but hey that's what's printed on the package. I'm sure they figure most folks use a file once or twice a year and forget about it, so relatively few people return them when they get dull.

Give it a shot, nothing to lose. The Craftsman files I've got do cut well, at least for a while.
 
Tai Goo said:
I'm thinking,... just get a stinking belt grinder. :(
Click to expand...

sorry i let this thread die i got bussy in the shop and forgot about it....i do have a nice belt grinder but i still file my plunge grinds and the shoulders on my guard:)....and the slot in my guard....see unlike most of the makers out there i dont have a mill it mostly done by hand ie FILES lol...thanks for the info im glad to know that its not just a isolated event...
 
Sears Craftsman files do not come in all the shapes I use, I do exchange my Sears Craftsman files about every three or four weeks

_Page
 
I bought a Nicholson “Made in Brazil” – is it a good quality?
Is it original or just a cheap pirate product?
 
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